Clare In The Community
Published on 13. November 2014
Audio
CD-Audio
978-1-910281-71-0 (ISBN)
Description
Sally Phillips stars as Clare in this sparkling collection of 13 comic episodes.
Clare Barker, the social worker with all the politically correct jargon but none of the practical solutions, returns in these 13 episodes, which includes a special instalment recorded live at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
As if the upheaval of moving offices and embracing hot-desking weren't enough for Clare and her colleagues at the Sparrowhawk Family Centre, the threat of redundancies hangs over them, as do the horrors of a team-building exercise. Together they must deal with shattering news concerning Ray, whilst on more than one occasion Clare finds herself in hot water at work. Meanwhile at home the challenges of raising their son puts a terrible strain on Clare and Brian's marriage, one which even relationship counselling can't repair. Just how will it all turn out in the end?
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden, and with a supporting cast including Alex Lowe, Nina Conti, Richard Lumsden and Liza Tarbuck, the exploits of Clare continue to delight and entertain her legion of fans.
Clare Barker, the social worker with all the politically correct jargon but none of the practical solutions, returns in these 13 episodes, which includes a special instalment recorded live at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
As if the upheaval of moving offices and embracing hot-desking weren't enough for Clare and her colleagues at the Sparrowhawk Family Centre, the threat of redundancies hangs over them, as do the horrors of a team-building exercise. Together they must deal with shattering news concerning Ray, whilst on more than one occasion Clare finds herself in hot water at work. Meanwhile at home the challenges of raising their son puts a terrible strain on Clare and Brian's marriage, one which even relationship counselling can't repair. Just how will it all turn out in the end?
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden, and with a supporting cast including Alex Lowe, Nina Conti, Richard Lumsden and Liza Tarbuck, the exploits of Clare continue to delight and entertain her legion of fans.
Reviews / Votes
"Playing Clare, Sally Phillips is the mistress of comic timing, sardonic even while slipping on the banana skin she carelessly strews before her. The best comedy on radio." -- Moira Petty * The Stage *More details
Edition
Unabridged edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
BBC Audio, A Division Of Random House
Edition type
Unabridged edition
Product notice
Audio CD
Dimensions
Height: 138 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Duration
Dauer: 362 min
Weight
200 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-910281-71-0 (9781910281710)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Harry Venning (Author) 'Clare in the Community began as a strip cartoon in the social work magazine Care Weekly. Six weeks later Care Weekly ceased publication, but no link was ever established between the two events. After this less than auspicious start she transferred to The Guardian, where she has been ever since. In 2004 Clare made the leap from a printed page to the airwaves of Radio 4 as a sitcom, which demanded her character be fleshed out considerably. We decided that she should be white, middle class and heterosexual - all of which are causes of discomfort to her - and that her obsessive involvement in other people's lives was the way she avoided addressing the problems of her own. At first we had a bit of a dilemma regarding Clare's professional competence. Although we were keen to avoid joining in with the national pastime of denigrating social workers, as popularised by certain right-leaning newspapers, Clare was funnier the more insensitive, oblivious, self-absorbed and generally useless she was. Ultimately, we went for the funny option and so far no social workers have complained of misrepresentation. In fact, quite the opposite. Social workers often compliment us on how accurate the shows are, and are surprised that we have no background in the profession. This is particularly flattering, since we have always prided ourselves on writing the shows from a position of profound ignorance. We have our moles on the inside who feed us workplace jargon and steer us away from glaring inaccuracies, but apart from that we have studiously avoided any kind of research. First, because for the show to have mass appeal it has to be accessible to an audience without any specialist knowledge, and secondly because we are too lazy. People often think it's the actors who make comedies funny, but it isn't. It's the writing. Having said that, Clare in the Community has been particularly lucky in its cast. So, grudging thanks to them. And since we're thanking people we really should mention our infinitely patient, endlessly resourceful, multi-talented producer Katie Tyrell.' Harry Venning & David Ramsden, writers of Clare in the Community, June 2007